The BBC has announced that it has appointed Matthew Postgate as its chief technology officer.

Postgate, who is currently controller of BBC research and development, will lead the BBC's technology strategy including broadcast engineering and internal IT.

Postgate is well known to BBC staff. He joined in 2003 and worked on emerging platforms and mobile services, and led the first public value test for iPlayer.

“It’s been a huge honour for me to lead a number of teams within BBC Future Media," said Postgate in a statement. "They are the best in the business and leaders in their field – just look at the BBC’s World Cup UHD trials – but opportunities like this are rare and I didn’t want it to pass me by."

He will report to Anne Bulford, managing director of finance and operations, and starts on 28 July. Bulford said the role of CTO is "crucial for the BBC" and that Postgate would bring "innovation, expertise and value" to the corporation.

Postgate replaces interim CTO Peter Coles, who filled the role left by John Linwood.

Linwood was forced to leave the BBC in July 2013 after being held accountable for the failure of the £100m Digital Media Initiative. Linwood has claimed he was unfairly dismissed and is awaiting the ruling of an employment tribunal.